New Times
by cathyyy
Summary: Lily had always thought that James was a horrible person, in fact; she had hated him. That’s why she kept asking herself why she had agreed to go on a date with him the night before. The answer to that was easy. The answer spelled Severus Snape.


Lily had always thought that James was a horrible person, in fact; she had hated him.

That's why she kept asking herself why she had agreed to go on a date with him the night before. The answer to that was easy. The answer spelled Severus Snape.

James had told her that he would stop being mean towards Severus if she agreed to go on a date with him and that had been the only reason why she had agreed, or so she tried to convince herself.

She closed her eyes as the wind whipped her face in the sunlight which was rare in the usually cold winter days, she turned her head around as she heard a giggle from behind her. Two Ravenclaws gave her a shy smile as if to tell her that they knew that she had finally given in to Potter and his wishes, she looked away from them with her jaw clenched.

Was it that easy, had she simply given in to him?

She was not a girl that gave in to people easily; she was what you called the typical stubborn Gryffindor. She knew that people called her stubborn, but she didn't mind that.

As Lily sat on the window sill by the open window and stared out over the Hogwarts grounds she couldn't help but to think about Severus. Her Severus, they had been so close over the years, but lately… After he called her a Mudblood, she wanted so desperately to hate him but she couldn't, most of all she felt sorry for him. But that did not change the fact that she couldn't stand looking at him.

He was miserable about the whole thing, or atleast that what was he had been telling her since the day he called her it. She didn't know what to believe anymore, it didn't even matter.

The image of Severus, a tall black haired boy with pitch black eyes and greasy hair, slowly faded in her mind though, as the image of James Potter once again surfaced. It didn't matter how much she tried to fight it, he had gotten under her skin.

Last night he had shown her another side of himself, a side which she happened to like. It was like he was a complete different person than the one she had known him to be for the last seven years.

He hadn't played with that stupid snitch and bragged over being the best seeker in the world, no… He had not mentioned Quidditch even once, he had wanted to know more about her and Lily had been unable to stop herself from telling. It had been natural and relaxing to be in James company and she hated herself for ever agreeing to go on a date with him.

But yet she couldn't stop thinking about him. Him and his messy, raven colored hair which she wanted desperately to run her fingers through. Him and his kissable lips, which she had thought about kissing more than once this day.

Lily groaned and leaned her head back against the wall. She had thought that if she did this than she would stop James from bullying Severus, she had not expected to like James. But she did and she couldn't deny it.

"Evans!" a boy called as he came walking towards her, she knew who it was without even looking up.

"Potter." acknowledged Lily defeated; knowing that she couldn't stop her feelings.

He smiled crookedly as he stopped beside her and leaned himself against the wall to look at her, a few students passed and looked at them knowingly. Lily sent them a small glare before she forced herself to look at James. "Yes?"

"Are you mad at me?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowed, she sighed. She was not mad at him, she was mad at herself for allowing herself to like him.

"No…" but to him she sounded hesitant as she let her eyes glance over the grounds yet again. He slowly brought his hand to cup her chin and make her look at him. What he saw in her eyes was something he had never seen before in Lily Evans eyes; self doubt.

Why would she doubt herself? He pondered.

Just as he touched her with his hand, in the very same second, a blacked dressed boy walked around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of James and Lily.

The boy's world shattered in to pieces as he saw the girl he loved the most in the whole world being so close to his worst enemy, he could feel his eyes start to sting as the tears formed but he refused to cry, refused to shed a tear over that… Mudblood. It was hard for Severus to even see her as one in his head, how he could have called her that was a mystery to him.

Lily glanced over James shoulder to find Severus staring at them; his hurt expression was like a stab in her heart. For just one second their eyes locked, his black ones met her intense green ones but then he turned and walked away without a sound, without letting James know he was there. Lily knew in her heart that she wouldn't be able to forgive him, no matter how much he said he regretted it, the damage was done. James followed Lily's gaze but Severus was long gone.

"What are you looking at?" he asked curiously as he looked back at her.

In a matter of seconds Lily made her mind up and she spoke softly, with none of the previous edge in her voice. "Nothing at all."

Severus had chosen his path, it was time for her to chose hers. He would not change, he would _never_ change.

The boy she had known was not the boy that she learned that he was. He was no longer the boy she thought that she had once loved.

"So, Evans, would you like to go on a second date?" James asked her, totally oblivious to Lily's inner turmoil.

"Lily." She corrected automatically and he smiled.

"Lily." He sounded happy at the use of her first name and she couldn't suppress the shiver his voice sent down her spine. "Well? What's it gonna be, Lily?"

She bit her lip as the thought it over...

_They had been sitting opposite each other at Three Broomsticks and they had been drinking Butterbeer, James had told her that he thought her eyes was the most amazing color and that it was a beautiful contrast to her red hair. She had thanked him, and at first she had wanted to leave but the longer she stayed; the more she wanted to be there. There was no question about his looks – he was handsome and he knew it. However, Lily just got awfully aware of that when she was sitting there listening to him talking about his friend; Sirius Black. She didn't hear a single word he was saying for she was mesmerized by his looks. That was a thing that rarely happened to her and she did not like it. No, Lily had not like it for one bit, still she had been unable to look away. Actually, she never wanted to look away._

...She smiled widely, for Lily finally understood that she had not done it all for Severus, she had agreed to go on a date with James because she wanted to, because deep inside of her she knew. She knew that it was meant to be. James smiled at her and just like that; Lily Evans no longer hated James Potter. Neither of the two knew what they had given themselves into after Lily spoke again.

"A second date sounds fine."


End file.
